Writing with shadows
by Majora-Cremia
Summary: After a long night of studying, Twilight meets a mysterious female pony. Little does Twilight know that this mare change something inside of her forever. A Twilight X OC slash fiction. Rated M for the possibility of mature content later. Enjoy!


**After watching excessive amounts of MLP:FIM, I couldn't resist the temptation to write a fanfiction based around it. **

**Fans of "Karin's Cherry Blossom" or "Cremia: The Reward" needn't worry. Those will be finished in their own time. I just really wanted to write this so I hope that if you enjoyed those you'll enjoy this. Shadow Spring is my OC, you'll find out more about her in later chapters but I like to think she's a fun character. I don't mention her Cutie Mark in this chapter, but it's a quill. Other than that, again I hope you enjoy this story and please leave some constructive criticism if you have any as I'm still learning.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic or any of the characters. **

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><p>Twilight Sparkle dipped the pointed tip of her scarlet quill into a golden inkwell. Dexterously using her magic, she continued to write her research notes in silence, with the orange and yellow flame illuminating the desk space. Bags under her eyes had begun to form from exhaustion; she had been up for the most of the night, scratching away at sheet upon sheet of parchment. Spike had warned her before he dozed off that she would regret staying up so late for what was nothing more than research for research's sake. In the recess' of her mind, the lavender unicorn pony knew this was true but the rest of her mind was hungry for knowledge and wouldn't take no for an answer.<br>She knew what would happen if she ended up working too hard though and had seen the effect of too much hard work on a certain apple-bucking earth pony. Mercifully, she had finished and was both proud to have been so studious as well as glad to finally be able to get some rest. Lightly, she poked the parchment to form a full stop.

"Phew… finished!"

She wiped the side of her hoof across her weary eyes and let a yawn escape from her mouth. A triumphant smile formed at her mouth as she tidied up her papers and organised the desk to its usual orderly state. In a way, it was better she got this research done now; otherwise it would just get in the way if any of her friends asked for her.  
>Satisfied with the state of the desk, she blew out the candle and turned round. The library looked so peaceful in the pale moonlight, instead of the usual wooden colour, a calm and soothing navy. Through the window, the silver moon created a spotlight as if Twilight was on a stage. But most wonderful of all, the silence. Night in Ponyville was always fairly hushed, but tonight, it was as if the whole of nature had become mute.<br>Twilight turned toward the stairs, ready to crawl into bed on what seemed like the perfect night. Then she heard it. The sound of hoof steps outside. A rapid gallop that seemed to be drawing ever closer. At regular intervals the noise ceased before recommencing a few seconds later like some sort of machine. Twilight slowly wandered over to her balcony, anxious to discover the source of the rhythmic trotting.

"You mean somepony other than me is up at this hour?"

Twilight wondered who it could possibly be. The only ponies she knew that could be up this late were Applejack and Rainbow Dash. Both of her guesses were debunked though as soon as she reached the balcony. Instead of the orange or sky blue pony she was expecting, a grey, smoke coloured unicorn was dashing feverishly from house to house with two, large, bulging bags at her sides. The mare stopped at a nearby house and rummaged inside her sack until she pulled out a bundle of parchment. With a thud it hit the grass in front of the door and she dashed off to the next building like a shot. Her crimson eyes were filled with an unwavering concentration, focusing purely on the next house, her equally crimson mane flapping around as she ran. Twilight felt something inside her, she couldn't quite tell what it was just yet, but just looking at this pony made her feel… strange. She had to talk to her; something inside of her heart was pushing her to do it.

"What are you doing?"

Twilight asked, staring at the gloomily coloured unicorn as she placed another bundle of parchment down onto the grass. For a few seconds, she just stared at the sky, sighing, not having noticed Twilight at all, her focus proving impenetrable. She twisted round to close her bag and was about to dash off again when she saw Twilight staring at her, quizzically. Her focus suddenly faltered, her eyes softening and her mouth curving into a gentle smile.

"Oh… hello. I didn't realise you were talking to me."

Twilight was rather taken aback by this new demeanour; it was radically different to the serious, dedicated behaviour displayed only a few seconds ago. But yet, she could feel both warmth and sophistication in this pony's stare, as if she had change into someone completely different. She also felt a hint of insecurity, of awkwardness. It was only then that Twilight realised the odd nature of the pony's last statement.

"Well… Who else would I be talking to?"

The unicorn twisted her head left and right, checking for other ponies. As soon as she realised their absence, a blush formed on her face, creating a crimson colour not unlike her mane. She averted her gaze away from Twilight the best she could, trying to hide her embarrassment.

"Nobody… I guess."

She chuckled a bit to herself and Twilight herself felt a small giggle escape from her mouth. Twilight couldn't help but smile at the scatter-brained nature of this mare. It was awkward, but also quite alluring; she had to stop herself from blushing after seeing her fidget around nervously.

"So. What are you doing?"

The mare fished another bundle from her sacks and presented it to Twilight.

"Delivering newspapers. You want one, I usually have a few copies spare."

Twilight contemplated for a moment before grinning. She never knew Ponyville had a newspaper before. Then again, hadn't seen this pony before either. It would be best to know about the current affairs in Ponyville too, especially if she was going to know about any important events.

"Sure, how much?"

"You can have one for free. It's not often someone notices me and talks to me. I get so lonely on these deliveries, I'm… kinda glad you decided to talk to me..."

Her horn glowed bright red and she sent the paper floating up to Twilight. The amethyst coloured pony scanned the front page. It was wonderful; the writing was so sincere and so informative, Twilight could see herself reading it for hours upon hours. She almost forgot that she was talking to someone she was so engrossed.

"Say… why are you up so late anyway?"

Twilight swiftly lifted her head back up to look at the smoky coloured delivery mare that was standing there, smiling softly with an inquisitive look in her eyes.

"Oh… just some research…"

"Ah, that's just like you Miss Sparkle. Always in the pursuit of knowledge!"

Twilight took a step back in astonishment. She was certain that she had never met this pony but yet she knew her name.

"How do you know my name?"

"Well, I wouldn't be much of a journalist if I didn't know who the famous Twilight Sparkle was…"

Twilight did a double take on the paper as she looked at the front page of the newspaper. Underneath the front page article, written in bold lettering was the name "Shadow Spring". She stared back at the delivery pony who just nodded in confirmation.

"You wrote this?"

"Yes. I wrote all of it actually."

Shadow looked at the ground, dragging her hoof along the ground in embarrassment. Twilight felt an excitement building up inside of her. She never knew there was someone so talented in literature living here in Ponyville. How could she have not known about Shadow's existence until now?

"That's amazing! How-"

Twilight's question was cut short by Shadow's gasp. The delivery pony was standing there wide eyed and in shock. Twilight opened her mouth to enquire about what was wrong but Shadow again cut her off whilst fidgeting nervously and staring at her apologetically.

"Oh no! I just realised that while I'm standing here talking… Ahhhh… I'm so sorry! I really need to get going!"

All of a sudden she started gallop away once more. With that she began to dash toward a new house not stopping to place them down this time but instantly dropping one as she ran by the door.

"Sorry Miss Sparkle!"

And before Twilight could say anything, Shadow had gone. The lilac pony sighed as she saw the mare disappear off into the distance. It seems her absent minded nature had caught up with her. Twilight was sad that they had to finish their talk so prematurely. She still felt a strange feeling growing inside of her. There was something about the way Shadow talked, about the way she acted, about her writing…

"What a strange pony."

She glanced over the paper once again and smiled, at least she had something good to read in the morning. After she had finished, she would find out more about Shadow. She had to know more.


End file.
